Spring is slow to come here. When we arrived almost 3 weeks ago, the grass was green and trees were budding. The grass is still green and the trees are still budding. The buds are bigger and more trees are budding, a few more flowers have opened, but the whole process is much slower than in Minnesota. Perhaps it is the shorter days, or the lack of sunshine or the cool temperatures. We have maybe made it to the 60s for a few hours one day. It is generally cloudy and in the 40s. So, yes it is warmer here, but it is not bursting out all over as spring does in MN.
The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) has begun. It is the world’s leading antiques and art fair and it is about a block from work at the MECC. Admission alone is about $75 per person and Van Gogh’s last painting is listed at about 30 million Euro or about $45 million. Not a bargain considering the weak dollar. There are so many BMWs, Porches, Mercedes, Audis, etc driving around.
Almost every time I am out walking around with Natalie, someone asks me for directions. I find this very funny for a few reasons: 1) I am quite directionally challenged, see previous post. In fact someone asked me for directions as I was looking at a map posted by the street. The map was not useful because it did not have a large “You are here” with an arrow and I could not see any street signs from my location standing by the map. 2) I think we stick out as Americans due to our colorful clothing. They wear a lot of black/gray as outerwear here. Mark was concerned after someone yelled something at him (in Dutch I am sure) as they drove by. He felt he stuck out too much due to his bright yellow coat. Natalie has gotten many, many comments on her dragon hat. In general, dress in Maastricht is more formal due to the french influence since we are not far from France. Sporty-style dress is not commonly seen. 3) Does walking around with a kid make us seem more approachable or more knowledgable? I don’t know, but I am always impressed with how easily people switch to English after we tell tham that we on speak English.
